Inferno
by jayk
Summary: Zhu Rong made a promise to her husband Meng Huo, she would take the land for his name. Now the last battle approaches and she doubts she can truly take the land, will she take the land and what must she do to gain it?
1. Sewing Dissention

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/weapons mentioned in this story, they belong to Koei/Omega Force. Nor do I own 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' the book which the characters are from.

She pushed the hairbrush aside; she had no need for it. Her army had nearly conquered the entire country and they'd just lost one of their final campaigns! She slammed her fist down in anger, shattering the little lacquer brush. Whoever had passed her it did it with apparent impertinence, as if her hair needed doing in a time like this. She shuddered to imagine what he was thinking and quickly tugged at her hair to try and neaten it up a little. She sighed as a large tuft fell out, obviously failing.

How could she let such a meagre thought consume her? She needed to plan, the army needed to re-gather and fight the enemy until they won the war, how could they do that if their commander was busy doing her hair. She looked in the mirror at the woman she'd become, savage. Just as everyone said they were, but she'd had to do this. She could go back to her former self once the land was truly hers. But that wasn't the aim, she didn't want to admit her true aim for fear of sounding crazy but the land would be hers, hers and her husband's. She'd promised her husband when he left for battle that she'd unite the land under their rule if he died. He'd engaged Wei in war after they called them 'filthy savages' unfortunately he never came back and was presumed dead. She'd came so far and she couldn't fail now!

Abruptly she turned and gave a piercing glare at the man in front of her; it appeared to be an incompetent general who had brought it to her. She saw the purple coloured outfit and had to refrain from slapping him, this man was from Wei. She'd executed most of them for her husband's sake but she let some stay. She regretted it.

"Who the hell are you?" She laughed at him but the demand to have an answer was clear in her voice, not caring that he looked deeply upset. "My name is general..."

"No it isn't!" She interrupted him before he could actually give his name; "I am officially demoting you, if you are even a member of _our_ army." She saw the offence in his face so she punched him square in the nose. "Go!" she screamed at him.

The ex-general didn't bother arguing his case, he thought she needed help. He quickly stormed out and slammed the door behind him. It was the winter and she was far from home, it was cold here. She nearly screamed when the cold air hit her face, the gust flew up from the door as it shut abruptly. She could take this no longer, she had once been known as the 'Goddess of fire' and although she had taken a more passive role back in Nan Zhong she was still known throughout the land under that name. Now she was merely the Queen of the South, which was outrageous. Since her campaign began she'd gotten so aggressive, she was so strong and fiery and still she'd lost her title.

She had battled before, she could take an absence from battle no longer. The campaign had extended under her rule, under her husband's rule they lived a happy life but they would have never ruled the land, which had actually been his ambition. But without her fighting they wouldn't win the last battle which they had finally came to, if they waited too long they would be beaten anyway. She grabbed her boomerang and ran after the general. "Wait!" she commanded, the man walked with grace and hadn't gotten too far. At first he raised his leg and appeared to be carrying on walking but he turned back and waited for her to catch up. "I'm sorry" she said apoplectically, fiddling with her hair which had veiled her face as she spoke.

Zhang He was hesitant at first, he knew she hadn't been herself lately. _She'd rampaged from Nan Zhong after Wei defeated her husband in battle and amazingly she took the entire kingdom, though his knowledge was dusty. He'd spent most of the timing waiting on Sima Yi's incompetent hand and foot and only got to fight in the very last battle. He remembered the queue, Zhu Rong had every general lined up and was quick to execute many. She let Zhang Liao go first and Xu Huang. But then it was Cao Pi's turn and he'd insulted her incredibly, she was merciless after that and killed Xu Zhu, Zhen Ji, Cao Ren and several other officers. She got to Pang De and decided to spare him, she'd even spared his own life. That was why he couldn't disobey her, he hadn't even liked serving under Wei; not since Sima Yi assumed the power. He'd got away, under the new army his sole aim was to track down and kill him. _

"So am I my lady" he began "I know that you aren't bothered about your hair but you were looking worried and I needed to find you a distraction, we can try again tomorrow." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "I'm not so sure" she admitted.

"Why?" he asked, he was taken aback that she'd followed him but now this? He saw the boomerang in her hand and wondered what was going on. 'No' he screamed inside his head, she couldn't be...

"You will not be fighting tomorrow" she spoke quickly and Zhang He was worried by her tone, did she want to kill him?

"I will fight tomorrow! Alone" She flourished the air with her magma wheel in a swift manoeuvre. "I did it once" she paused, thinking about the great battle she'd first engaged in after her husband's death, just her and Sima Yi.

_A duel that no one won. She was winning, the battle had raged for several hours and he was on the verge of death but the coward had cheated and ambushed her, he'd fled after that and never returned. She remembered it, with her inferno she'd destroyed all of the juggernauts and captured the Wei officer Zhang Liao. He was a man of honour who did not respect Sima Yi for his cowardice tactics, she knew as good as everyone else did that he'd held back in their battle and let himself lose. After that she'd invaded Wei, without strategy they'd crumpled under her might. The only bad thing that came from that war was that she'd lost inferno. She was unsure how exactly but all she remembered was that when she woke up it'd gone. After that she'd stopped fighting, it took her days to find Magma Wheel and after that they'd already won._

"Folly!" Zhang He shouted "My lady you cannot attack the WuShu allegiance alone" he toned down quickly "It's absurd and you know it, they're too powerful and we will only win this war with strategy, not strength."

"Why not?" She asked rhetorically, "I did so before."

"That was against Wei, under Sima Yi they were nothing!" Zhang He protested, WuShu had the military might and the strategic strength.

"In case you didn't realise I beat Wei under Cao Pi." She argued, knowing she'd already lost anyway.

Zhang He grumbled. "My lady!" He tried not to shout and just emphasised his words "Cao Pi was an incompetent ruler, you won because many generals like myself and Zhang Liao would have rather fought for your cause than his."

"Okay" she eventually gave up. "The people love Liu Bei and there is a strong bond between the officers of Wu, we can only win this war with strategy." Zhang He smiled, he'd got the point across.

"I shall go to Wu my lady, I have a plan."

Zhu Rong nodded in permission, she was biding time and any plan would help. "Pray tell."

"Some of the Wu officers are selfish and only care for themselves, if we can get them to hate each other they may defect to us to fight off their enemies."

Zhu Rong nodded. "Is that Gan Ning the pirate you refer to?" she wondered, who could he mean.

"No" Zhang He laughed "this officer has a much stronger influence in the army of Wu, but the officer is disliked by many now."

"You're such a tease" she laughed. "Alright then, I want you to surprise me."

Zhang He was glad "Thank you my lady" He hadn't wanted to tell her anyway, she'd probably have disallowed it because she would never have believed that this officer was disliked by many. He jumped up for joy and quickly attached his peacock talons, if he was to travel alone he'd need protection. He had a feeling he'd need to go to an actual Wu city to buy a Wu garb. "I'm gonna look hideous" he shuddered at the thought. "No you wont" a familiar voice shouted to him from the stables. "You won't have to wear a horrible Wu garb" they both laughed at this "for I shall go and undertake this task, my friend." Zhang He's assumption was proved correct when Zhang Liao stepped from the shadows.


	2. Hiding His Scars

'Zhang Liao!' Zhang He shouted in excitement as his old friend stepped out from amidst from the shadows. He had already quarreled with his leader Zhu Rong today and he didn't want to start a dispute with his good friend Zhang Liao so he privately noted that the years hadn't been too kind on him, either that or he'd recently been in a fight. Zhang He was repulsed by the man's appearance but he tried not to show it in his eyes, he didn't allow their gazes to meet and he quickly studied him from head to toe. The last time he'd saw him (and that was about two years ago) Zhang Liao was a proud general with gleaming jet black hair, not that you could see it under his magnificent hat. His hat had shadowed his face as well but it was made from finely sculpted features, a strong jaw bone and an acute nose beneath his kind bright brown eyes.

Zhang He sighed aloud, now the man he had once respected for his beauty almost on s parallel with his own had allowed the elements to weather him. He no longer wore a hat and sadly he'd allowed his hair to grow long and tangled, the ends were split everywhere, his hair had gone flat and it was all one colour; it had turned a murky grey colour and he was only thirty six. His once bright brown eyes had faded, they were still brown but they looked so dark, cold and unwelcoming. Zhang He didn't linger on the eyes but he noticed something different about his left eye, something was missing but he couldn't quite place it.

His once strong cheek bone had flattened and sagged, his straight cut chin had fallen victim to sagging and as much as it hurt him to say it Zhang He felt that Zhang Liao had gotten rather large, he looked at him and he was bigger outwards than he last remembered. The only thing of merit would have been his beard which had grown longer than even Guan Yu's but this new feature as also grey and it was in knots. Zhang He sighed again and this time Zhang Liao picked up on it, in a frail voice he croaked "What's wrong my friend?"

Zhang He said as politely as he could "You've changed."

"Yes" Zhang Liao answered quickly, "We have all changed. The times have changed and as a consequence we have all changed somehow, WuShu and the great Nan Zhong army are at the biggest war we have ever witnessed, we can't help but change. Your leader Zhu Rong has changed, she used to be so fiery and now even she is weak and frail and so" he paused "am I"

"No!" Zhang He shouted "You are not frail, you are not weak!" Zhang Liao used to be his best friend and he was the strongest, bravest and most valiant officer he had ever witnessed in battle, how could this have happened to him? "You can still fight, look!" Zhang He shouted frantically, pointing to the wyvern that Zhang Liao's shaking hand was desperately trying to clutch. "I am afraid I cannot." he commented with almost no emotion, Zhang He was astounded, had he lost the will to battle? "I cannot live my last days as a warrior any more, I want to die in honour and where is the honour in fighting needlessly?" Zhang He nodded, that sounded more like the Zhang Liao he knew but wasn't he contradicting himself? "Then how do you intend to doe in honour?" Zhang He asked, wondering if the man even knew what he wanted any more.

"I have never stopped thinking about this, I'm dying my friend." he started talking, Zhang He was taken aback again, he recalled the comment about his last days but he hadn't taken it too literally, Guan Yu and other honorary men had always spoken about their last day as if it were tomorrow. "I have known for quite some time, after Wei's last campaign against the Nanman me and Xu Huang got estranged and we were living in a province with an elderly sorcerer from a foreign land. One day my body wouldn't lift me and the sorcerer gave me a cure which gave me strength, I spent four months thriving on it but then he died and he couldn't write, the cure was lost forever." Zhang Liao paused, Zhang He was amazed, it must have been a truly powerful man who had managed to keep Zhang Liao strong. "I knew it would only be a matter of time before I fell frail again and I needed to die in honour, I couldn't just pass away in my bed!"

Zhang He walked closer to his friend and reached out his hand, Zhang Liao nudged away and some of the hair fell from his beard "Even my beard has lost it's strength" Zhang Liao whimpered, it saddened Zhang He to see his former ally so weak. "In one last desperate attempt I cam here to see you, you're a clever man He and I knew that you'd know what to do. I have been here a week, hiding in the shadows and I heard your plan to alienate the Wu officer. I would be glad to do the task for you and to die with honour and esteem."

Zhang He nodded, "I would also be honoured to grant your last wish, the plan is this, Zhu Rong didn't know which Wu officer I was referring to, having originally guessed Gan Ning, you're a clever man too; do you know?"

"Lu Xun" he hazarded a guess although he hadn't thought about it too much.

"Sadly no, despite the fact that he is an outcast strategist and an annoying brat" Zhang He stopped, he didn't know why but Zhang Liao seemed to react to that, was something aloof? "He is still very welcome in Wu and with Lu Meng on his side we will not be able to sow dissension amongst the WuShu ranks with Lu Xun as our target."

"So who is it?" Zhang Liao asked quizzically, if it wasn't Lu Xun then he couldn't think of who it could be "I know of no other man of Wu who is disliked."

"Nor do I!" Zhang He exclaimed, he laughed at the puzzled expression on Zhang Liao's face "I am referring to the woman, lady Sun Shang Xiang, she holds a prestigious rank for a woman but there is a hate there amongst the others, she married Liu Bei thus triggering the WuShu alliance, you'd be surprised at how many officers within that alliance would rather the two separated back into Wu and Shu."

"Would I?" Zhang Liao asked, seeming genuinely shocked at this comment "Oh yes, I'm in contact with several Shu officers because they're old allies of the Great Army of Nan Zhong, Guan Ping, Xing Cai and their friend Zhao Yun feel a strong dislike for Sun Quan after the death of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. They have often spoken to me about a rebellion."

Zhang Liao looked shocked, Zhang He didn't see why he should be but he continued "If Sun Shang Xiang is taken our prisoner then Liu Bei will surely demand her return, if we do not return her then he will leave the alliance and then we may be able to get ourselves some officers."

Zhang Liao nodded, in the space of time it had taken Zhang He to make these comments he had mounted and was already in a stolen Wu garb that he must have had tucked away somewhere. "I understand" he nodded and added an almost silent "farewell, my friend." Zhang He let the tears roll down his face, he hoped on all his beauty that Zhang Liao would be able to capture the Wu princess and return her in time for one last drink. "Sima Yi taught you well, a fine strategy my friend!" Zhang Liao made his final comment and rode off into the darkening night.

"Sima Yi taught me well?" he mused on this comment. "Zhang Liao knew what Sima Yi did to me!" He exclaimed silently with a not so subtle hint of outrage, he turned around in a circle to check that no one was watching him, he nodded and then pulled his shirt up and looked at the hideous scar adoring his chest "he tried to destroy my beauty!" He shouted angrily towards the dot on the horizon, supposedly Zhang Liao. "Are you still here?" Zhang He heard Zhu Rong's sharp, strong voice cut through the atmosphere of the night. He heard silence thereafter and realized it must have been the dead of night, had it truly been half a day since he told Zhu Rong he'd be off. "I am, my lady" he bowed as she approached him.

Zhu Rong walked straight past him and looked in at the stables "Where is my horse?" she demanded, Zhang he was aware that she'd supposedly lost her fiery attributes but the words almost burnt through him. "Your horse?" He gulped with fear.

"You're the only one who has been out here!" Zhu Rong shouted, bending over to look at something on the floor. "No," he stuttered "Zhang Liao of Wei has been here my lady!" He said with excitement, hoping she would be excited too, he was disappointed because she had blatantly disregarded the comment. "What's this?" she asked, showing a long grey beard which was terribly knotted and tangled "It's sticky" she commented, rubbing her fingers across an adhesive at the top "It's a fake beard!" she eventually answered her own question.

"You're a beautiful man, Zhang He" she said in all sincerest honesty "Why on earth would you want to wear a hideous fake beard, I knew you needed a disguise but I didn't realize you were willing to make yourself ugly?" She commented rhetorically.

"The beard isn't mine!" he commented, desperate to save herself from scorn. "You're telling me Zhang Liao was here?" she asked, again rhetorically. "I'll have you know that he has recently written to me, he became estranged from the world and has lived as a recluse for the last year but now he says he's ready to return and he wants to join our army as one of our strongest assets, this letter was sent yesterday and no steed could have got him here in that time, not even Red Hare!"

Zhang he thought about this and then commented "he said he'd been here a week and he didn't have a steed with him when I first saw him." Zhu Rong thought about this. "Wait here!" she commanded, setting off back towards the palace.

_'Look at this!' Zhang He whimpered, his face was stained with tears which were flowing constantly 'Sima Yi just tried to take my beauty from me for a mistake I made in his strategy!' He wailed and threw himself against the floor, hiding the scar from his friends eyesight. Zhang Liao reached his hand out and commented soothingly as he lifted up his friend's shirt, looking at the scar 'It's on your chest, He' he paused to breathe out 'Even beauty has a limit and you abide to this limit perfectly, I've never seen you showing your chest off in public.' He said politely. Zhang He batted his hand away. _

_'Beauty fades!' he screamed loudly 'scars don't fade' he became inaudible in all his tearful banter but eventually he calmed down 'This scar will outlive my beauty!' He fell into tears again, 'Sima Yi has ruined me!' Zhang Liao had never seen his friend He angry before but it didn't shock him when he started punching the floor. 'Then we'll have to make sure we ruin Sima Yi' Zhang Liao smiled, Sima Yi was in it all for himself and he'd known from the start what he was trying to do with Cao Pi's army, killing Sima Yi would not be an act of dishonour. 'One day I swear upon Blue Wyvern that I will slay Sima Yi!' He smiled._

_Zhang He was contented but it still wasn't enough 'We will outlive him anyway, I'm hideous forever now!' Zhang Liao placed his hand under Zhang He's chin and lifted him up to look directly in his eyes, 'You once told me that without a reflection I was the most beautiful man you knew' Zhang He took a moment to think about this and then nodded. Zhang Liao removed his hat and swept his gleaming jet black hair back pointing just above his left eye. Zhang He gasped. 'Beauty stands out, scars can be hidden.' He smiled, placing his hat back on and sweeping his hair forwards. Zhang He took his friend's hand and used it to lift himself, 'scars can be hidden' he agreed, tucking the shirt back in._

"That scar!" He shouted "I knew that there was something suspicious about that man's appearance and now I know what." He performed a small dance on the spot. "Zhu Rong, Zhu Rong!" He called his lady by her name as he waved excitedly, she gripped whatever she was holding and ran over to him. "It's hard to navigate in the darkness" she admitted, holding out the letter. Zhang He felt warmth and relief to see his friends cursory handwriting, "This is from the real Zhang Liao!" he exclaimed.

Zhu Rong nodded, "What did you tell the man who visited you?" she asked patiently and politely. However on the horse the man had taken he could be back in WuShu within four days, they needed to get after him so Zhang He instead collected two tired looking horses from the stables. "I told him far too much, I think" he paused and thought about it "yes, that reaction..." He trailed off before picking his words back up "Lu Xu of Wu!" He exclaimed, mounting the horse as quickly as he could.

Zhu Rong saw and followed suit "We must catch up to him!" Zhang He shouted, relieved that he still had his talons equipped, Zhu Rong pulled several daggers from amidst her night gown and nodded "Let us make haste!" she shouted "We shall ride back to the houses and find lord Pang De!" Zhang He nodded his head sideways in reluctance "There is not the time!" He pleaded with the lady but she needed to return "I need to have someone watch over the lands during my absence!" She thought about this. "You get going, if I go back I can get Pang De's steed and catch up to you." Zhang He nodded in agreement, looking out into the night as he rode away from his lady he shivered, it was cold and dark but it was not the time to fear; he could have just lined up three prestigious Shu officers up for the slaughter house and this needed redeeming. "Bye" he shouted and rode off into the night.


End file.
